Chapter 135 Objects of the Middle Shang Period

Fang Ming quickly found the information he wanted on the Internet.

The so-called block model method is a relatively "ancient" bronze casting method, also known as the earth model method, which has been used since the Shang and Zhou dynasties, and is also the most widely used method. To put it simply, the block model method is used to make the model of the melter that you want to cast, which is the so-called mold or the mother model, and then the soil is applied to the outside, and after it comes out, it forms the casting component of the outer profile of the casting, which is the so-called outer fan, and the outer model is divided into several pieces after it is formed, so that it can be taken off from the mold. In addition, it is necessary to make another mold of the inside of the container, which is called the inner fan, and when the inside and outside are combined, a cavity with a gap in the middle is formed, and after the bronze is melted, it is poured into it, and when it cools, the desired bronze is formed.

Generally speaking, this method is divided into several steps: molding, modeling, casting and trimming, because the process is relatively mature, so it has been widely used.

As for the lost wax method, it is relatively simple, that is, the material that is easier to melt is generally beeswax or butter in animal oil, etc., which is first made into the mold of the desired utensils, this mold is called a wax mold, and then a layer of fine mud will be poured on the mold, so that after the mud is dry, a mud shell will be formed on the surface of the wax model, and then refractory materials will be coated on the surface of the mud shell, and then baked after hardening, at this time, the wax oil inside will melt, and the shape - one - book - read - novel {y}{b}{d}{u} It becomes a "cavity", and after pouring the melted bronze into it and cooling it, you will get the casting you want. The characteristic of this method is that there are no joints between the parts of the bronze artifact, which is relatively smooth and precise.

"What's the name of your antique shop?"

Raising his head to look at Ning Yuan, Fang Ming immediately realized that she was using the Lost Wax Method at this time, because she was piling up a pile of oily but viscous looking things on the table.

"Butter? The name of the shop is Gu Xuan Zhai. ”

"Okay, no problem."

Ning Yuan nodded and continued to get busy, she first spread out the butter and spread it on the workbench, first laying out about 150 cm by 50 cm square, and then using a knife to "scratch" the three big characters "Gu Xuan Zhai" on the butter.

"Good word!"

Fang Ming couldn't help but cry out in a low voice when he saw it. During this time, he had been researching and reading about antique collecting, and the art of calligraphy was naturally an important part of it. Because of his super memory, he can basically write down the information he has seen, so he now has in his mind the posts of the calligraphers of the past dynasties, although he has not practiced much, but "I have never eaten pork and watched the pig run" is not, so his appreciation ability is actually very strong at this time.

Although it is only a word drawn with butter and a knife, it gives people a feeling of iron painting and silver hook, and when facing such words, a powerful momentum suddenly pounces over, just like facing a general on the battlefield, or facing a high-ranking official, which is daunting.

If such a character was written by a man, Fang Ming still felt that it was easier to understand, but it turned out to be written by a beautiful woman like Ning Yuan, which was really shocking.

"I've been practicing calligraphy since I was two years old, and I've been writing for more than 20 years now, so it's not surprising to be able to write like that."

Spreading his hands, Fang Ming said, "Okay, maybe it's not strange for a genius like you, but it's another thing for us ordinary people. ”

"Oh? It's true? I don't think it's too difficult to do, since I was a child, as long as I can imitate everything I have seen, and I can innovate on this basis, for example, this character, I can very easily imitate the momentum of some great calligraphers, and then fuse them together, so that it becomes my characteristic, in short, it is to put together three or four different styles. ”

Ning Yuan's words are not difficult to understand, simply put, put A, B and C into a blender for mixing, so that the final thing is not A, not B or C, but a new thing that ABC fuses together. But that's easier said than done.

Ning Yuan's movements were very fast, and he used butter to finish the signature mold in just half an hour, and then quickly adjusted the fine mud and poured it on the butter mold, and then there was a special fireproof material.

"Wait until it's dry, then bake out the butter inside, and pour the melted bronze into it."

He clapped his hands, then took a damp cloth and wiped his hands clean, and then said, "Now it's something else, you go ahead and clean up the antiques, and I'll see what the hell is good." ”

"Okay! No problem. ”

Fang Ming knew that it would take a certain amount of time for these fireproof materials to dry, and the bronze that had been accidentally found was still on the side and had not been cleaned up.

The mud paddle that had been painted on the outside was quickly wiped clean, revealing the inside of it.

"This is the tripod among the bronzes."

Ding is the most important category of bronze, Fang Ming has consulted the relevant information before, and it can be seen at a glance at this time.

Bronze ware is mainly divided into nine categories, namely tripods, wine vessels, weapons, food vessels, water vessels, bronze mirrors, musical instruments, measuring vessels and miscellaneous utensils. Among them, the tripod is the most important type of bronze ware, which is used to cook meat or store meat.

Generally speaking, the tripod has a three-legged round tripod and a four-legged square tripod, some have a cover and some have no cover, the small one may be only a few inches high, and the big one is very likely to be as high as a meter, the most well-known is of course the Simu Wu Dafang Ding, it was unearthed in 1939 in the Wujia cypress cemetery in Yinxu Military Attache Village, and it shocked the world as soon as it appeared, because it is 133 centimeters high, 110 centimeters long, weighs 875 kilograms, is called the king of the tripod, is the largest bronze in the world.

"When is this bronze?"

Ning Yuan is a master of painting, and she is naturally a layman in antique appraisal, this question can only be asked to Fang Ming.

"Shang Dynasty, and it should be in the middle of the Shang Dynasty, of course, I'm not very good at this, go back and find an expert to identify."

After taking a look at the mold, he found that it was still early to dry, and there was time both horizontally and vertically, so Ning Yuan simply made a pot of coffee and poured himself and Fang Ming a cup.

"Then tell me, why do you think it's from the Shang Dynasty? And it is said that it was in the middle of the Shang Dynasty, you can't be so accurate that there is no basis, right? ”

Fang Ming drank a cup of coffee, nodded and said, "Of course, if it weren't for the evidence, I wouldn't say that." The identification of antiques can be about the material, style and ornamentation to identify, the reason why I say this is the bronze of the middle Shang period, naturally because it has the characteristics of the middle Shang period. ”

Pointing to the tripod, Fang Ming continued, "Look at this tripod, it belongs to the round tripod, the characteristic of the tripod at this time is that the mouth is the mouth, that is, the mouth of the tripod is slowly contracted from the outside to the inside, there are three parts of the tripod, the abdomen is bulging, forming a round line, the bottom of the tripod is round, and there are three feet below, and it is a sharp cone. ”

"It is worth noting that the ears of the tripod in this period are no longer opposite to one of the tripods, but the three legs are opposite to the two ears. In terms of bronze, at this time, in addition to the round tripod, there were also square tripods and flat foot tripods, the square tripod is close to the rectangular tripod body, flat lips and ears, flat bottom but there are four pillars of tripod feet. As for the flat-footed tripod, it is mostly straight, the folded lips are thicker, there are two standing shames on the lips, the tripod belly is relatively deep, and under the round bottom are three beast-shaped flat feet, characterized by the beast's mouth opening to support the tripod belly, and the landing place is the beast's tail. Therefore, formally speaking, it is certain that the tripod in front of us is from the middle Shang period. ”

"In addition to the modeling, the bronzes of this period can also be identified in terms of peng-patterning, the most important thing is that at this time there was a cloud and thunder pattern, and it is a multi-layer pattern used to line the ground, which is a very fine carving process, which has not appeared before, and you can also find the relief of the animal face pattern. However, the animal face pattern of this period is characterized by roundness and relatively few turns, and after the late Shang period, there will be more obvious turning square corners. ”

According to some information, Fang Ming knew that the cloud and thunder pattern was the most typical kind of ornamentation on bronzes, which was actually a kind of ornamentation composed of the continuous 'Hui' character lines that are commonly seen. Among them, the round "Hui" character is called "moire", and the square "Hui" character is "Thunder Pattern". In bronzes, its function is often used to set off the theme or the central ornamentation, which is used for decoration and embellishment. If it appears alone, it is usually on the "neck" or "foot" of the bronze, which in a sense represents the symbiosis of the sun, clouds, and thunder in the sky.

"Is this thing really worth 2 million? It looks inconspicuous. ”

Ning Yuan's brows furrowed, although the bronze in front of him had been cleaned up, it still didn't look like it was a valuable antique.

"I'm just going to clean it up briefly, and I'll have to find an expert to clean it up when I go back, and it's not good if I accidentally break it."

Fang Ming knew that antiques often had gone through a long time, and they were likely to be destroyed if they were not careful, and there was a lot of soil on the bronzes before, and it was no problem to use a damp cloth to do the initial cleaning by himself, but when it came to more careful and thorough cleaning, it was better to hand it over to more professional people.

"Miss Ning, if you don't have a hobby of collecting antiques, you can entrust this bronze to our store to sell, and then how about giving you the money?"

Fang Ming didn't forget that there were relatively few antiques in his shop, and immediately started business.

"You found this antique, and it's yours."

When Fang Ming heard this, he immediately shook his head and said, "This is found in the bronze you bought, so it should belong to you." ”

Although it was discovered by himself, after all, it was found in Ning Yuan's bronze materials, so logically speaking, it must belong to the other party, and Fang Ming would not ask for this antique.

"As for the one I found, I should repay you for casting a sign for me, how about it?"

"Okay."

Ning Yuan was a very neat person, and after hearing Fang Ming say this, she didn't say anything more.